Brontës at BWWC'17

This year's BWWC Conference is being held in Orange County, NC and the program contains several Brontë-related talks:

25th British Women Writers Association Conference

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

June 21-24, 2017.

Panel 2F: “Something Borrowed: Charlotte Brontë’s Adaptations & Traditions,” Seminar Room, Hyde Hall
Moderator: Valerie Stevens (University of Kentucky)

Amanda Campbell (Winthrop University): “The Improvisation of the Vocational Novel: Madame de Stael’s Corinne, or Italy as a Study of the Improvisational Life”

Lisa Elwood (Herkimer College): “Lucy: Aspiring to Create a Literary Tradition through Self-Reliance”

Rachel Howatt (Louisiana State University): “‘Pale as a Cloud, but Brightening Momently’: Moon as Motif in Jane Eyre”

Abigail Heiniger (Bluefield College): “Revolutionary Power of Love and Faith: Jane Eyre’s Afterlife in Asia”


Panel 4D: “Crazy for More: The Brontë Afterlives,” Club Room, Carolina Inn
Moderator: Katherine Montwieler (University of North Carolina, Wilmington)

Elizabeth Lee Steere (Southwestern Community College): “The Next Jane Eyreation: Brontë Derivatives in the Sensational Sixties”

Vera Foley (Auburn University): “The Brontë Sisters’ Voyage to America: A Transatlantic Legacy’”

Panel 4E: “Unmanned: Masculinities too Close to Home,” Incubator, Hyde Hall
Moderator: Jacob Romanow (Rutgers University)

Jiwon Min (Louisiana State University): “Domesticating the ‘Unreclaimed Creature’ in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights”

Panel 5C: “Time for Brontë!” Hill Ballroom South, Carolina Inn
Moderator: Carol MacKay (University of Texas at Austin)

Emily Datskou (Loyola University): “Rereading Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights: Generational Time and Narrative Structure”

Holly Fling (University of Georgia): “Reader, I Time-Traveled: Jane Eyre through the Looking-Glass”

Alexie Cash (University of Georgia): “Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, the Changeling, and the Defamiliarization of Time”

Poetry Reading in Florida

An alert for today, June 23 in Boca Raton, FL. Rita Maria Martinez will read some of her The Jane and Bertha in Me poems in

SoFloPoJo Poetry FAU Boca 
Hosted by South Florida Poetry Journal Soflopojo

AU Boca 6-23 5PM 

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Branwell, winner of the Tour de Yorkshire competition

Keighley News reports that the Branwell Brontë on a Bicycle landart has won the Tour de Yorkshire competition!

The winner of the Tour de Yorkshire Land Art competition has been unveiled as an image of Branwell Brontë riding his bicycle – in the year which marks his 200th anniversary.
This iconic artwork was designed by Andrew Wood from the Fields of Vision team, and created with help from schoolchildren at Haworth Primary School, where the image was created.
The huge artwork measured 80 by 65 metres and was made using recycled materials including waste marquee carpet and an incredible 3,000 plant pots.
Branwell’s head and hands were sprayed on with grass-friendly paint, while pupils placed and pegged the plant pots into position on their school field to create the bike.
Not only does 2017 mark the anniversary of Branwell Brontë’s birth, but it also marks 200 years since the invention of the first bicycle.
This year, the Tour de Yorkshire Land Art competition drew almost 4,500 public votes – a record breaking figure.
Today (June 21), Sir Gary Verity, the race director of the Tour de Yorkshire, presented Andrew Wood, the Fields of Vision volunteers and the Haworth schoolchildren with the 2017 Land Art trophy.
Sir Gary, who is also chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This is a fitting winner as the image of Branwell riding his bicycle is a perfect tribute to two trademarks of Yorkshire – the Brontës and cycling.”
Mr Wood, leader of Worth Valley Young Farmers Club’s Fields of Vision project, said: “Having co-organised Sue Ryder’s Brontë Sportive each July for eight years I have always wanted us to do a land art that would link Haworth and cycling.
“The fact 2017 marks both 200 years of Branwell and featured the Tour de Yorkshire coming through the village meant this was the perfect time to do it.
"We are delighted with how it turned out and want to thank everyone who voted for us.”
Helen Thompson, head teacher at Haworth Primary School, said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed using the recycled materials to bring this image of Branwell on a Bike to life to mark the Tour de Yorkshire coming through our village this year.
"We would like to thank the Fields of Vision team for all of their work and support.
"And we would also like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for Branwell in this competition. We feel honoured to have been voted as the winners this year.” (Miran Rahman)

BBC News reports it too.

Keighley News gives some details of the upcoming Poetry at the Parsonage event:

Through the day there will be talks, readings and workshops by leading poets, including Simon Armitage, Patience Agbabi, Jacob Polley, Kei Miller, Zaffar Kunial and Clare Shaw.
The visit to Haworth will be personal for Cumbria-born writer Jacob Polley thanks to a youthful misdemeanour.
He said: “When I was a teenager I accidentally-on-purpose boosted a copy of Jane Eyre from my secondary school, so I’m very much looking forward to coming to the Brontë Parsonage, in part to atone for this childhood misdemeanour.
“Though this might be called a ‘poet’s atonement’, which would be no atonement at all, because it’s going to be such fun!”
As well as taking part in an evening poetry reading with his fellow writers, Jacob Polley will lead a workshop entitled Small World.
The TS Eliot-prize winner will explore the close-in and the seldom-examined, as well as the micro-decisions that people make when they write a poem.
Jacob’s recent anthology Jackself was described by one judge as “a firework of a book; inventive, exciting and outstanding in its imaginative range and depth of feeling”.
Patience Agbabi will lead a workshop entitled Telling Tales – Page to Stage focusing on her modern-day interpretation of Chaucer. (...)
Poetry at the Parsonage, which will be held on Saturday, July 1, is aimed at both fledgling poets and those wanting to build on their talents.
A spokesman said: “There’s the opportunity to gain inspiration and hone your skills through workshops and open mic.” (Richard Parker)

The San Diego Gay & Lesbian News reviews The Roustabouts Theatre Company's humorous take on Wuthering Heights, Withering Heights.

Poor Emily Brontë.
She only wrote one book, and now look what’s happened to it.
Those two crazy guys, Phil Johnson and Omri Schein, have crammed one of the favorite novels of 19th-century English lit – “Wuthering Heights” – into a zany one-act play in which the two of them play all the parts.
Or at least all 14 listed in the program.
Huh? Yes, you read it right.
But wait.
The world premiere of their “Withering Heights” may lack proper respect for the book, but it sure doesn’t lack for imagination, goofiness, hilarity or (let’s just say it up front) fart jokes.
Diversionary Theatre is the host and David Ellenstein (of North Coast Repertory Theatre) the director for this wild-haired laugh fest. Johnson and Schein are two of the lights behind scrappy new startup The Roustabouts Theatre Co.
Johnson plays Nelly the maid, who tells us “that lady who wrote the book got it wrong” and offers to tell us “the real story.”
And we’re off, that poor homeless boy Heathcliff (Johnson) with the gypsy look adopted by Mr. Earnshaw (Schein) and moving into the same household with the lovely Catherine (Schein), inspiring both jealousy from the “real” Earnshaw son Hindley (Johnson) and forbidden love between the gypsy and Catherine.
There’s also illness, unexpected pregnancy, revenge, death and applesauce (did I mention that this is a 19th-century novel?)
And those 14 characters, all portrayed by Johnson and Schein with minimal scenic and costume design changes.
A rear projection tells us we’re on the Moors, or in one of the two houses. Lighting by Curtis Mueller clues us in on time and James Olmstead’s music gives emotional cues.
Costume changes take place behind an enormous, curtained fake gold picture frame. So Johnson is Nelly with a white flowered apron-like cloth around his waist, and young Catherine with that same cloth used as a shawl.
Watch for other additions, like Johnson’s sock-puppet dog (a hoot) and Schein’s thick-as-London-fog accent as pipe-smoking servant Joseph. And for those hilariously awful wigs by Peter Herman.
Oh my.
But mainly, don’t miss the wild and crazy show. (Jean Lowerison)

The San Diego Union-Tribune recommends it as well.

On the BookBub Blog, author Markus Zusak recommends 10 classic books including Wuthering Heights:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Considered lurid and shocking by mid-19th-century standards, Wuthering Heights was initially thought to be such a publishing risk that its author, Emily Brontë, was asked to pay some of the publication costs. A somber tale of consuming passions and vengeance played out against the lonely moors of northern England, the book proved to be one of the most enduring classics of English literature.
The turbulent and tempestuous love story of Cathy and Heathcliff spans two generations — from the time Heathcliff, a strange, coarse young boy, is brought to live on the Earnshaws’ windswept estate, through Cathy’s marriage to Edgar Linton and Heathcliff’s plans for revenge, to Cathy’s death years later and the eventual union of the surviving Earnshaw and Linton heirs.
A masterpiece of imaginative fiction, Wuthering Heights (the author’s only novel) remains as poignant and compelling today as it was when first published in 1847.
Zusak’s recommendation: “Again, it gets better over time, and I can’t help but love the ferocity of the writing — Heathcliff and Catherine love almost viciously, and we can love them without necessarily liking them.”

BookBub Blog also recommends '18 Classic Books to Read If You Love ‘Downton Abbey’', including Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Bronte’s enduring classic — the story of a young woman’s quest for love and acceptance in Victorian England.
The young orphan Jane Eyre inhabits a fragile position. Born to a good family but with no wealth of her own, Jane is sent to live with her uncle’s family — an arrangement that turns sour when he dies – -and then to Lowood, a punitive and tyrannically run boarding school for girls. As she matures into adulthood, Jane’s fiery spirit and independence grow more acute, as does her sensitivity to the world around her. Now governess of the secluded Thornfield Hall, the first place she has ever really felt at home, Jane falls in love with the passionate and impulsive Edward Rochester, master of the house. Just when it seems her luck has finally changed, Jane discovers the secret of the attic — a terrible revelation that threatens to destroy her dreams of happiness forever.
Narrated in the unforgettable voice of its remarkable heroine, Jane Eyre is a timeless tale of heartbreak, mystery, and romance that shines a brilliant light into the dark corners of Victorian society. (Shayna Murphy)

Dallas News reviews the book The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times by Christopher de Bellaigue.

Part of the problem was that, from a Muslim perspective, much of Enlightenment culture was, in fact, debased. As de Bellaigue notes early on, a novel like Jane Eyre would make no sense to many Muslim readers of the time. It wasn't just that they'd see an unmarried woman taking charge as an aberration, or ask why Rochester didn't simply take Jane as his second wife. Elements of the story British readers would accept as givens, such as newspapers and regular postal delivery, were far from commonplace in the Middle East, where even the printing press was viewed by domineering religious elites with skepticism, a potential agent of disruption. (Ron Hogan)

Cracked lists '5 Movies That Taught A Lesson Its Characters Totally Ignored', including

Mr. Keating From Dead Poets Society Wants His Students To Think Outside The Box, But Teaches Them The Box [...]
Where was Maya Angelou? Claude McKay? Elizabeth Browning? Emily Dickinson? Frederick Douglass? Any of the Brontë sisters? There were like half a dozen Brontë sisters! [erm?] These people were all prominent poets and writers by 1959, when the movie takes place. And if you ask Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz, who's kind of a real-life Mr. Keating, he'll tell you: "If you don't want to deal and relate and think about what it means to be a woman in this planet -- you're going to have serious problems. The same with dealing with the question of ethnicity and race."
Ironically, by teaching an all-white, all-male syllabus, Mr. Keating is reinforcing the same cultural homogeneity that he's trying to beat out of his students. It's almost as if this movie was made for and by upper-class white males. But that can't be right ... (James Kinneen)

Coincidentally, the Australian edition of The Huffington Post is of the opinion that 'Blokes Should Read More Books If They Want To Have Sense And Sensibilities'.

Further, we can learn about courage and conviction and the respect of women in 'Jane Eyre', resilience and perseverance in the job market in 'The Grapes of Wrath', compassion and forgiveness in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' or the perils of chasing fortune and fame in 'The Great Gatsby'. (James Bitmead)

A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lovely posts about Wuthering Heights.

Finally, the Jane Eyre UK Tour Twitter account shared a video about the music that plays during the show.

Watch our video to learn about the fantastic music that plays a key role to our production of Bronte's Jane Eyre #music #NationalWritingDay pic.twitter.com/skX8OZuFyA

— Jane Eyre UK Tour (@janeeyreonstage) June 21, 2017

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Jane Eyre in Hong Kong

An alert from the Brontë Society in Hong Kong

Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre Theatre
Jane Eyre
Pre-performance Workshops and English Theatre Performances. Post-performance Discussion
Director: Dr Vicki Ooi
22 - 23.6.2017 (Thu - Fri) 10:30am & 2:30pm
Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre Theatre

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre opens with Jane, an orphaned, poor and lonely ten-year-old, living with a family that dislikes her. She grows in strength, excels at school, becomes a governess, and falls in love with Edward Rochester. After being deceived by him, Jane has to regain her spirituality and discover her own identity. By the end of the novel, Jane is a strong, independent woman and marries Rochester as his equal.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and is widely recognised as a precursor of feminist literature. This much beloved novel of today gives us a glimpse of gender and social inequality during the author’s time, to which our titular heroine challenges and overcomes with the power of love and faith. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – says Jane Eyre. Women of the Victorian time lived in a rather submissive role but Jane Eyre is not one who would submit to her circumstances. We can imagine how Jane Eyre’s free spirit might have stirred up uneasy feelings in conformists of her day while for readers of our time, her strong will and longing for equality shall never cease to inspire.

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Jane Eyre: brexiteer (or so they say)

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner tells about what's scheduled locally for the bicentenary of Branwell's birth.

The bicentenary of the birth of Branwell, brother of the famous Brontë sisters, will be celebrated at a Calderdale pub. [...]
The celebration is planned at one of his favourite drinking haunts from his time as station master at Luddenden Foot railway station – The Lord Nelson public house in Luddenden village.
Leading the gathering on Saturday, July 1, at 7.30pm is local author Alan Titterington whose recently published novel St John In The Wilderness captures Branwell in his many guises. Branwell recorded his friendship with Alan’s ancestor John Titterington in his Luddenden diaries and painted portraits of him and his wife Mary in gratitude for their support through difficult times.
Also appearing at The Lord Nelson will be folk singer John Bromley (Kimber’s Men) whose solo CD From Higgin Chamber figures in Alan’s novel and was recorded in a studio at Higgin Chamber, Boulderclough, near Sowerby, formerly the home and weaving mill of John and Mary Titterington. This three-storey mill features in the novel and was visible across a wide sweep of the Calder Valley on the night of September 9, 1856, when it was destroyed by fire.
At the Lord Nelson celebration theatre director Gareth Tudor Price will give readings of Branwell’s poetry and his portraits of John and Mary Titterington will also be on display. (Andrew Hirst)

Kent Online reviews Sally Cookson's Jane Eyre as seen at The Marlowe Theatre ending up on an unexpected, and rather pointless, note.

The problem with Charlotte Brontë's heroine is she just won't wear the victim's smock. She is feisty, belligerent and determined as she discovers her true inner self.
And that struggle has been caught so brilliantly in the Bristol Old Vic/National Theatre's version of Jane Eyre, which is at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury until Saturday.
This isn't an adaptation or a simple re-working of the novel. Director Sally Cookson bravely re-invents the character. It is pacy, poignant and packing a punch - this is genuinely refreshing fresh Eyre. [...]
It was hard to believe during the performance of just short of three hours that there was only a cast of 10 - and some of them musicians.
At the heart of the play was Nadia Clifford as the eponymous heroine who grows from desperate child into a woman of substance with an ease that was truly believable.
And while paying homage to the period with smocks, corsets and bonnets, we follow Jane’s journey via a set of ladders, a climbing frame and platforms, from designer Michael Vale.
It is a tale of verve and humour told by a group of wonderful versatile actors who play children, adults and even a scene-stealing dog by the hilarious Paul Mundell as Rochester’s pet Pilot. [...]
And fused seamlessly into the story is music - not Jane Eyre The Musical, but Jane Eyre with music wonderfully performed by Matthew Churcher, Alex Heane and David Ridley, and enriched by Melanie Marshall’s soulful singing.
But it’s Nadia Clifford’s powerful performance as the determined rebel - moving from Jane the downtrodden child to GI Jane, who lets rip with a volley of invective against her oppressors - which is utterly captivating.
By her side is a wonderful ensemble of talent, with Hannah Bristow taking on five roles, Evelyn Miller taking on three and Lynda Rooke as both the vile Mrs Reed and the wonderful Mrs Fairfax. They also voice Jane’s conflicting thoughts.
Evelyn Miller manages to play Jane's friend Bessie, her love rival Blanche and her suitor St John Rivers so convincingly.
And smouldering in the background is the curmudgeonly Rochester, played by Tim Delap, who is drawn to his daughter’s governess like a moth to a deadly flame.
You are left feeling that if a Jane-like figure were alive today, you would hope she would be at the head of Britain’s negotiations on Brexit! (Paul Hooper)

Fallbrook & Bonsall Village News reviews - with some pictures - Roustabouts Theatre Company's Withering Heights.

Just at the “edge of crazy” is one of the funniest, liveliest shows currently running in San Diego. It’s fall-out-of-your-seat hilarious. Withering Heights brings Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights, to life like never before! It is a hoot!
Co-writers Phil Johnson and Omri Schein have taken what seemed like a really, really bad idea and turned it into brilliant one.
Exercising expertly crafted comic change ups, impeccable timing, razor sharp wit with fall on your face English farce, this two man/woman show is a non-stop laugh fest. [...]
Phil Johnson plays eight of the sixteen characters including a dog – brilliantly. He is just too funny (Right, there should be another word for “funny” but none describes the story as well). Each character is on the mark and Johnson never, never breaks. He is fully committed to each of his many personalities.
Then there’s Omri Schein. His character dedication is without pause. He’s a comic master mind that combines rib tickling, side splitting and lines delivered on the mark. One cannot help but be amazed.
David Ellenstein had the good sense to stay out of their way and allowed Johnson and Schein’s talent to meander throughout the story. Well, it just makes Ellenstein look really smart.
This delightful show came about because three guys thought there was something missing in San Diego theatre. Will Cooper, Ruff Yeager and Phil Johnson are making a difference by representing playwrights, producers, and actors coming together to make magic.
The team is supported by a production crew dedicated to their duties; James Olmstead made music, Scott Amiotte designed the set, Curtis Mueller managed the lights while Melanie Chen and Chad Lee synchronized the sound. However, absolutely nothing would have worked if Elisa Benzoni had not coordinated costumes with Bonnie Durben’s props along with Peter Herman’s wigs.
Hats off to this dedicated band of merry makers. (Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal)

Entertainment Weekly recommends '7 classic gothic tales to watch before you see The Beguiled', such as Wuthering Heights 1939.

As with the genre’s most famous entry, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Gothic tales typically center on female protagonists and investigate the female psyche, particularly as it relates to desire, repression, and unbridled emotion. [...]
Wuthering Heights (1939)
As with its sister text, Jane Eyre, there have been numerous attempts to adapt Emily Brontë’s tale of forbidden love on the moors. Though this adaptation only makes use of 16 of the novel’s 34 chapters, it is perhaps the most indelible for its Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography that brings the ghostly, haunting moors to vivid life (despite being filmed in sunny Los Angeles). It favors romance over the novel’s intended towering feminine rage that extends from the afterlife, but for better or worse, the film’s take on the central relationship between Cathy (Merle Oberon) and Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) has shaped notions of the story for more than half a century. Olivier disliked his costar because he had wanted to star opposite his real-life love interest Vivien Leigh (who was off making Gone with the Wind at this time). However, he did make an interesting contribution to the subconscious terror inherent to the gothic – fresh off playing Hamlet on the British stage, he employed Freudian techniques of psychoanalysis to make Heathcliff a smoldering Byronic hero in lieu of the more traditional romantic lover.
Rebecca (1940)
Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again…so begins this gothic romance based on a 1938 Daphne Du Maurier novel that was a contemporary answer to Jane Eyre. (Maureen Lee Lenker)

Decider thinks that the new screen adaptation of Anne of Green Gables, Anne with an E, has 'a protagonist problem'.

The major plot points of this narrative were well-established when Anne of Green Gables was originally published. I suspect that Anne herself is what was fresh. Here she’s a cross between Jane Eyre, Ramona Quimby, Hermione Granger, and Nellie Oleson. This isn’t a winning combination, and Amybeth McNulty’s portrayal is just one shade more reserved than the kind of acting one expects to see on those Disney tween shows where the kids are all loud and sassy. (I feel like a jerk trash-talking a little girl, so let’s blame the director.) Anne loves big words and lyrical imagery, and her speech reminds me—more than anything—of a character in a crappy historical romance. (Jessica Jernigan)

Here's how The Huffington Post describes the British TV series Inside No. 9:

The episodes tend to focus on conversation inside that venue, so if you’re looking for sweeping Jane Eyre-type British countryside visuals, this is probably not your show. (David Hinckley)

Coastal Illustrated has an article on 'The fine art of Romanticism':

The art of Romance and the month of June go together like a breath of fresh air. Paintings were not the only creative product of significance during this art period, as this was also the era of great poets such as Byron, Keats and Shelley. It was during this time that the famous romantic novels of the Brontë family, particularly “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë and “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë, were first created.

Not really.

SparkLife imagines humorously how 'Classic Authors Pitched Their Novels, Probably':

Wuthering Heights
It’s a love story for the ages, except no it’s not. (Elodie)

Chiapas paralelo (Mexico) discusses the book Una adicción a la novela inglesa by Sergio Pitol

Sobre Cumbres borrascosas, de Emily Brontë, libro imprescindible, Pitol cede la voz a Virginia Woolf para tratar de clarificar la extraña pasión de los personajes (p. 37): “El conflicto no es de ‘te amo’ o ‘te odio’, sino el establecido entre ‘nosotros la raza humana’ y ‘ustedes, los poderes eternos’ ”. (Héctor Cortés Mandujano) (Translation)

The Lady Nerds find echoes of Jane Eyre in Florence and the Machine's song “Only If For A Night"

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Gala Jane Eyre Performances at Haddon Hall

New chances to see Jane Eyre as a promenade play in Haddon Hall, no less:

Jane Eyre
Adapted by Gillian Shimwell
Gala Evening Performances – June
21st - 24th June at 5pm-6:45pm

The choice location for many film-makers; Haddon Hall has played host to no less than three versions of ‘Jane Eyre’.
In celebration of Haddon Hall’s connection to many adaptations of Jane Eyre, Lord and Lady Edward Manners have commissioned local writer Gillian Shimwell to create and produce an exciting new live promenade play called ‘Jane Eyre at Haddon Hall.’
This quick paced play features costumed actors playing key roles from the novel, directing scenes throughout the hall guiding an audience along as if apart of the performance. A unique experience you would not forget.

Arrive 30 minutes before performance to enjoy a glass of Prosecco under the arch of the restaurant and then enjoy a beautifully prepared, three course meal after the play has ended in Haddon’s Restaurant.

Gillain Shimwell on her adaptation:

The task: to present the entire novel, faithfully, within the space of one and a half hours; to1 place the action entirely within Haddon Hall, whilst capturing the sense of moorland space, the dreary confines of Lowood school, the comforts, and the sinister secrets, of Thornfield, and the pleasant homeliness of a smaller manor in which Jane, now a woman with her own money, yet retaining her disregard for opulence, is finally re-united with redeemed, maimed Rochester. This is in retrospect; when I was asked to take on the commission, I simply accepted an enticing opportunity. I re-read the book, then put it aside, except for reference, and began.

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Honest plot summaries

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner tells about Kirklees Council offering Mary Taylor's former home to Friends of Red House when the group no longer existed.

Kirklees Council tried to sell one of its museums to a community group that no longer existed, it is claimed. [...]
The Examiner has learned that the council’s bid to asset transfer the venue to volunteers has failed, despite three bids from interested groups.
Following the unsuccessful process, council officials wrote to the Friends of Red House Museum asking if they could raise the funds to buy the property.
But the group had been wound up in January and so did not respond.
The future of the Grade 2 listed museum – which showcases the home of Mary Taylor and her links with author Charlotte Brontë – is now unknown.
It is thought the council will attempt to sell the small estate to a private buyer.
Michael McGowan from Red House Generation Group, whose bid was turned down by Kirklees officers, has lashed out at the “inadequate and seriously flawed” asset transfer process.
Mr McGowan, a former Labour Member of the European Parliament, has written a scathing letter to council bosses, accuses the council of “cultural vandalism” and questions the expertise of the officials involved in the process.
Mr McGowan says neither elected councillors nor officers from the museums and galleries service were involved in the decision making panel that turned down the bids.
He said: “We were told that the group Friends of Red House had been written to and offered six weeks to declare an interest in buying the property and then they would have six months to raise the funds.
“But it has been widely reported in the local press that the Friends of Red House no longer exists. It is surprising that Kirklees Council are ignorant of this situation.
“It undermines total confidence in the process to be informed that Kirklees had written to a group that does not exist.”
His letter continues: “It is now sad that the Spen Valley is being robbed of its one centre of history and heritage with the selling off of this priceless community resource.”
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said it would “consider the points raised” in Mr McGowan’s letter and respond directly, adding: “We wrote to The Friends of Red House because they had submitted a Community Right to Bid application for Red House Museum, which was accepted and published on the council’s website. (Nick Lavigueur)

BookRiot offers 'Honest plot summaries of 19th-century novels', including

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë: His first wife was in the attic the whole time, but the heroine marries him anyway. [...]
Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë: The two worst people in the world fall in love, unfortunately for the people around them who have to put up with their nonsense. (Kathleen Keenan)

USA Today's Happy Ever After interviews writer Juliette Cross, who

From the moment she read Jane Eyre as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. (Joyce Lamb)

This columnist from The Times tells about the 'anxiety' he feels whenever his kids go to him with a question:

Point being, this ad is my worst nightmare. I have enormous levels of anxiety when it comes to being the “omniscient dad’’ figure. I just don’t think I’m there. I have three children and whenever I see them approaching with a book in hand I break out into cold sweats, and think: “Holy shit! No history please. No chemistry. And definitely no maths. And no comparative religion either. Just something nice and easy. Like the novels of the Brontë sisters or something from physics with a Bunsen burner, preferably distillation.” (Kevin Maher)

Bunsen burners sound more about chemistry, though.

Finally, an alert from Gaylord, MI:

Sarah Shoemaker will be available for a reading and signing of her first historical fiction novel, "Mr. Rochester," at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, at Saturn Booksellers, 127 W. Main St.
Shoemaker, an Illinois native and world traveler, will share with listeners the secrets of Edward Fairfax Rochester of "Jane Eyre" fame. Shoemaker will give insights into the perspective of the enigmatic "Mr. Rochester" as she relates the secrets of an 8-year-old boy banished from his home, his journey to Jamaica and his entanglement there with an enticing heiress. (Gaylord Herald Times)

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Late Night at the Parsonage

An alert from the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

Late Night Thursday
Museum open until 8pm
July 20th 2017 05:30pm - 08:00pm

A chance to avoid the crowds and enjoy the Museum in the early evening. Visit www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on for details of one-off events to enhance your visit.

Late night Thursdays are free after 5.30pm to all visitors providing proof of residence in the BD22, BD21 and BD20 postcode areas and also to all those living in Thornton, birthplace of the Brontës. Usual admission prices apply to all other visitors. Pre-booking not required.

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Ellen Nussey's notes on the Brontës

First of all, let us recommend Nick Holland's selection of rarely-seen quotes by Ellen Nussey on the Brontës on AnneBrontë.org. We are now wondering why they are so often left out of biographical accounts as they seem to really bring them to life, particularly Emily, whose biographers should be glad of these gems.

The Guardian interviews writer Amanda Craig and asks her,

Which literary figures – dead or alive – would you invite to a dinner party? Dickens and Thackeray – although it would have to be when they were getting on, because I hate people having rows. And Charlotte Brontë and Keats. (Hannah Beckerman)

Times of San Diego reviews the stage production Withering Heights by Roustabout Theatre.

Mayhem, delirious mania, split-second character changes and two tour de force performances. Oh, and audible dyspepsia. And a fart. Can’t have a silly spoof without that.
David Ellenstein directs this inspired insanity, which excels more in the characterizations than the text itself.
The gray, moorish set was designed by Scott Amiotte. The costumes (Elisa Benzoni) are just right, minimal changes marking maximal character delineation. The sound effects (Melanie Chen) are terrific, and the lighting (Curtis Mueller) is highly effective (mirror ball and all). The lights for the graveyard scene are killer. And of course, everything turns blood-red with each death.
Even if this isn’t your cup of comedy, you’ve got to marvel at Schein’s insanely gifted malleability of face, voice, accent and gender, not to mention his agile physicality. And Johnson’s inherent wackiness and mastery of humor, anger and canine impersonation.
Off-the-wall? For sure. The guys, the play, the acting, the whole enchilada — wildly over-the-top. You’ll get a bellyful, for sure. (Pat Launer)

And more Wuthering Heights-inspired humour as The Huffington Post includes the novel on a list of Twenty Classic Novels (As Onion Headlines).

20.Wuthering Heights: Man reacts very poorly to being friendzoned. (Jocelyn Macurdy Keatts)

BookerTalk has compiled a list of '10 literary fathers to love or dislike' including Heathcliff.

 The brooding protagonist of Emily Brontë’s Gothic novel Wuthering Heights fathers a sickly child called Linton whom he despises. Heathcliff harshly uses him as a means to exact revenge on the Lintons over the death of his beloved Cathy, to the extent of forcing him into a marriage.

Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb features John Pfordresher, author of the forthcoming book The Secret History of Jane Eyre: How Charlotte Brontë Wrote Her Masterpiece.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for this book, and how did you research it?
A: There’s a story here. I participated in a panel discussion about Jane Eyre for the NPR syndicated radio program “The Diane Rehm Show” several years ago.
Subsequently a young literary agent e-mailed me asking if I would be interested in writing a book about how Brontë was able to write what she termed “my favorite novel.”
This seemed to me an interesting project because I’ve been for many years fascinated by the creative process, the “how” great writing emerges. So we wrote up a book proposal and W. W. Norton generously accepted it.
The answer to “how” seemed to me, insofar as it’s possible to scrutinize the creative process, to be a biographical question.
And so I learned all I could about Charlotte Brontë through the major biographies from the classic account of Elizabeth Gaskell up to recent accounts by Winifred Gérin, Juliet Barker, and Claire Harmon [sic], as well as reading all of Brontë’s letters and other writings, both the juvenilia as well as her other published fiction. (Read more)

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Anne with a Jane Eyre Quote

The seven episodes of the new adaptation of Lucy Mary Montgomery's Anne of the Green Gables, Anne with an 'E' are named after quotes from Jane Eyre. These ones:

1

Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny  (Chapter XXIII)

89m

A bungled message brings spirited orphan Anne Shirley to Green Gables, where unmarried siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert are waiting for a boy.

2

I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me (Chapter XXIII)

45m

A determined Matthew embarks on a journey to bring Anne home. Marilla is sick with worry but struggles to express her emotions.

3

But What Is So Headstrong as Youth? (Chapter XXII)

45m

Anne starts school in Avonlea and discovers she has much to learn. Marilla steps out of her comfort zone to attend a meeting for progressive mothers.

4

(I Have) An Inward Treasure Born (With Me) (Chapter XIX)

45m

A minister's advice prompts Marilla to question her choices. When tragedy strikes, Anne's intellect saves lives -- and her sullied reputation.

5

Tightly (and Inextricably) Knotted to a Similar String (Chapter XXIII)

45m

Anne hosts Diana for her first "grown-up" tea, but the affair proves a bit too intoxicating. Matthew runs an errand of utmost importance.

6

Remorse Is the Poison of Life (Chapter XIV)

45m

Anne's resourcefulness mends fences with the Barrys when Minnie May falls gravely ill. An affecting loss stirs up memories of Marilla's past.

7

Wherever You Are Is My Home (Chapter XXII)

45m

With the future of Green Gables at stake -- and an ailing Matthew confined to bed -- Anne and Marilla move mountains to save their home.

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The Greatest of Heights

On MyrtleBeach Sun News, Pam Stone likes Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas:

What?? Miss Anglophile? Miss ‘likes-to-cozy-up-in-bed-with-a-cup-of-tea and a worn copy of Jane Eyre, after watching an episode of ‘The Crown,’’ adores the gory, expletive-strewn saga of this notorious American crime family?

Greater Kashmir and women:

Woman is certainly not from an infallible species. At times, she too goofs. At times, she too lives meanly like ants, and fights with cranes like pygmies. Even today, it rankles as to why didn’t Jane Austen marry her savior Mr. Darcy; why Emily Brontë died so young; why Emily Dickinson flitted; and why Christina Rossetti looked at life through the wormholes in a shroud. (Syena Afshada)

The Free Lance-Star reviews Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann:

So, here lies the problem. You are a young and aspiring writer. Looking to scale the greatest of heights. Wuthering heights. And you crack open this book on how to be a writer and you start reading. Might even dog-ear a page or highlight some formative paragraph that you intend to cite in your obligatory man-of-letters memoir. And you read some more, and slowly the dawning of recognition settles upon your furrowed brow. The words you softly utter are not suitable for the pages of a family newspaper. In short, you are reading the words of a master of his craft. And you, young and aspiring writer, are daunted by his words and his genius. But read on, no matter how wracked by insecurity, for there are many lessons to be learned in these pages. (Drew Gallagher)

Ultima Voce (Italy) reviews the film Lady MacBeth:

L’ambientazione passa dalla Russia al ventoso Northumberland, regione dell’Inghilterra a confine con la Scozia, che tanto rassomiglia allo Yorkshire della grande Emily Brontë, quasi resa spirito benigno per i riferimenti, anche inconsci ed involontari, che il paesaggio e i personaggi scatenano in rapporto a Cime Tempestose. (Antonio Canzoniere) (Translation)

Hufvudstadsbladet (Sweden) talks about Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca:

Rebecca är en normavvikare och måste dö, precis som Madame Bovary, eller Bertha Mason i Jane Eyre som romanen så ofta jämförs med. De här kvinnorna kan inte överleva i en patriarkal värld. (Isabella Rothberg) (Translation)

Periodistas-Es (Spain) reviews a local production of the zarzuela Marina:

En Marina hay tres personajes masculinos que representan diferentes ideales o estadíos del amor: el enamorado ferviente, un pescador al que conoce desde su más tierna infancia pero que no se atreve a declarársele; el del hombre despechado (un capitán Ajab de Moby Dick, o un Heathcliff de Cumbres borrascosas) que por desengaños de la vida ha renunciado al amor y va solo a lo suyo, y el del enamorado celoso como Otelo, un terrible barítono (Ivo Stanchev) que, por su complejo de inferioridad, no se acaba de creer que haya sido él el elegido por Marina. (Nunci De León) (Translation)

BHPL Book Blog recommends Villette. n+1 Magazine has a short story by Veronica Raimo which mentions Wuthering Heights;

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From the Land of the Moon

We have quoted several reviews and articles talking about the Wuthering Heights references in the film Mal de Pierres. We can show you now Marion Cotillard reading and becoming very intimate with Emily Brontë's novel.

Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the  Moon) (2016)
Directed by Nicole Garcia
Produced by Alain Attal
Screenplay by Nicole Garcia, Jacques Fieschi based on Mal di Pietre by Milena Agus
Starring Marion Cotillard, Louis Garrel, Alex Brendemühl

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What's coming to the Brontë Parsonage Museum

Local newspapers highlight what's to come to the Brontë Parsonage in the next few weeks and months. And it's a lot! Keighley News has the dates for the rest of this year's Brontë Treasures in the museum's library:

Brontë Treasures dates for the rest of 2017 have been released by the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
The monthly events allow visitors to the Haworth museum to go beyond the security cord into the library for a close-up viewing of items not on display.
Visitors can examine rarely-seen items from the world’s largest collection of Brontë artefacts, manuscripts and personal belongings.
Tickets cost £85 for each session. They will be held on July 28, August 25, September 29, October 27 and November 24, all at 2pm. (Richard Parker)

Keighley News also reports that Poetry at the Parsonage will be returning for the second year in a row and will tie in with the celebrations of Branwell's bicentenary.

Poetry at the Parsonage returns for a second year following its successful inauguration in 2016.
Top-notch poets will headline a day of workshops, talks and performances at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
Budding writers will be able to get in on the act with an open-mic session, poetry readings and the chance to pick up hints from the masters.
The first festival of its type in Haworth was held last year to tie in with the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.
This year’s Poetry at the Parsonage festival, on Saturday July 1, is part of a year-long programme celebrating the bicentenary of brother Branwell’s birth.
A spokesman said: “For fledgling poets or those wanting to build on their talents, there’s the opportunity to gain inspiration and hone your skills through workshops and open mic.
“We’re delighted to announce Simon Armitage, Patience Agbabi, Jacob Polley, Kei Miller, Zaffar Kunial and Clare Shaw as workshop leaders.
“And we have a treat in store for the evening: Simon, Patience, Jacob, Kei, Zaffar and Clare will come together for a poetry reading in The Old School Room.
“Poetry at the Parsonage offers a unique opportunity to hear some of the most vibrant poetic voices on the scene."
All of the workshops will take place at venues in Haworth.
The day will begin with Clare Shaw’s Writing the Shadows, taking as a starting point Charlotte Brontë’s phrase, ‘the shadows are as important as the light’.
The workshop will explore the dramatic, poetic and personal importance of engaging with loss, trauma, pain and other difficult experiences in poetry.
A workshop by the Brontë Parsonage Museum’ s 2017 creative partner Simon Armitage, entitled The Great Indoors, has already sold out.
Birmingham-born Zaffar Kunial will help writers decide when their poem is ‘ready’ during a session on Poetry Editing.
He will teach basic principles, and give practical tips on aspects such as line breaks, syntax and form.
Jacob Polley’ s workshop Small World will explore the ‘close-in and seldom-examined’, along with the micro-decisions people make while writing a poem. [...]
Kei Miller will lead a workshop on the theme of 'Poetry is never about what we say, it is about how we say it'.
Patience Agbabi’s workshop Telling Tales – Page to Stage will follow the transition from written word to performance of her modern-day interpretation of Chaucer. [...]
The day after the festival, on Sunday, July 2, Simon Armitage will host Wandering Bards, a walk in the footsteps of would-be poet Branwell Brontë.
The linear walk will go from Luddendenfoot in the Calder Valley, where Branwell worked as station clerk-in-charge, over the moors to Haworth.
Simon will be reading poetry during the arduous trek aimed at experienced walkers. (David Knights)

We must say, though, that as far as we can remember, the phrase ‘the shadows are as important as the light’ is not actually by Charlotte Brontë, as it comes from Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 adaptation of Jane Eyre.

And The Telegraph and Argus announces a forthcoming talk on Emily Brontë to mark the 199th anniversary of her birth.

“Stronger than in man, simpler than a child” is the title of an upcoming talk at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
The talk on July 28 at 7.30pm will look at the most enigmatic of the Brontë sisters, Emily, on the eve of her birthday.
Charlotte Brontë used the phrase to describe her sister Emily after her death, but this may not be the full picture. (Richard Parker)

The Guardian discusses the literary tie-ins of TV series Twin Peaks. First of all, we are told what a tie-in is, or should be:

The tie-in is a curious beast. As an exercise in branding, it can encompass lunch boxes, duvet covers, video games, toy mannequins and lollipops. In literature, a true tie-in refers to televisual or cinematic attempts to extend the narrative of a novel without changing its original story. It involves more than simply changing the book jacket – in the way that the novels of Jane Eyre and Jaws were reissued with new covers to cash in on their cinematic fame. And it is quite different from novelising a film – though that can lead to some interesting comparisons with its representations on screen. (Stuart Kelly)

LitHub wonders, 'Why are we so afraid of female desire?'

Passionate feelings of all kinds could look unfeminine. Even writing about them was risky. Charlotte Brontë felt obliged to apologize for her sister Emily’s rendering of the “harshly manifested passions, the unbridled aversions, and headlong partialities” of northern folk in Wuthering Heights. That a quiet, well-behaved girl could even imagine a Heathcliff was somewhat unseemly. Emily had been unworldly, a home-bred country girl, Charlotte explained, much accustomed to the rough folk of the rugged moorlands, and it showed in the “perverted passion and passionate perversity” of her characters. Not that Charlotte herself was able to fully disguise her passions: her love for the (married) French teacher, Professor Constantin Héger, with whom she lodged and worked in Brussels in the 1840s, was a disruptive influence in her life and erupts through the surface of her novels. (Carol Dyhouse)

Vulture reviews the film Maudie:

There’s a Gothic quality to Maudie, suggesting stories in which a headstrong young governess slowly turns a brusque master into a sensitive lover. That’s the template, anyway — the atmosphere is too desolate and the heroine too simple to make this a modern Jane Eyre. (David Edelstein)

The Yorkshire Evening Post mixes fashion tips with local knowledge:

For petites, the top of the dress is best fairly close-fitting, not necessarily tight, but fitted or skimming close to the body. This helps keep the look in proportion and streamlined. You can create the illusion of height by choosing a slightly higher waistline, although again this should be fairly fitted. A small figure in an empire-line dress simply looks shorter and wider (have you seen the Brontë dresses at Haworth Parsonage?). (Stephanie Smith)

El Periódico (Spain) reports on the total success of the recent stage production of Jane Eyre in Barcelona:

En Gràcia, el montaje más visto, con un 100 % de ocupación, ha sido "Jane Eyre", con 6.057 espectadores. (Translation)

La Voz de Galicia (Spain) reviews the film Mal de Pierres:

Rechazada por un profesor timorato que le da a leer Cumbres borrascosas, enamorada de un hombre desahuciado, encontrará la redención en la comprensión última de su hermosa locura. (Eduardo Galán Blanco) (Translation)

La Voz (Argentina) interviews the writer Mariana Enríquez:

–La historia de Éste es el mar es, finalmente, una historia de amor trágico. ¿Qué te gusta y qué te interesa rescatar hoy de ese tipo de relatos? (Eloísa Oliva)
–Mi libro favorito es Cumbres borrascosas. Esa es la mejor respuesta que puedo dar. Hoy o siempre, es un tipo de relato que me gusta y que, sobre todo, me parece que no es cínico. Me aburre enormemente la escritura cínica e incluso irónica. En este momento, esas distancias temerosas me provocan tedio. (Translation)

Wired (Italy) reviews Lady MacBeth:

 Vendicativa, egoista, la Lady Macbeth di Oldroyd è un personaggio a cui è impossibile non affezionarsi. È stato scritto, non a caso: immaginate Cime tempestose diretto da Hitchcock. In effetti il film si rivela l’epopea crimale di una donna moderna che non si lascia imporre marito e vita, ma si sceglie l’uomo con cui stare e la vita che vuole fare in un tempo in cui alle donne tutto questo non era concesso. (Claudia Catalli) (Translation)

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The Brontës in Carmilla

Carmilla is a successfull vampire-lesbian web series that now is being developed as a feature-length movie. The release is scheduled for this fall.

“Carmilla the Movie” (working title) features the stars of the digital series, Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis, who return for the supernatural spinoff film. (...)
Both the movie and the web series are based on the 19th-century cult-classic gothic vampire novella of the same name by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
In “Carmilla the Movie,” it has been five years since Laura (Bauman) and Carmilla (Negovanlis) vanquished the apocalypse and Carmilla became a bonafide mortal human. They have settled in to a cozy apartment in downtown Toronto; Laura continues to hone her journalism skills while Carmilla adjusts to a non-vampire lifestyle. Their domestic bliss is suddenly ruptured when Carmilla begins to show signs of “re-vamping” – from a fondness for bloody treats to accidental biting – while Laura has started having bizarre, ghostly dreams. The couple must now enlist their old friends from Silas University to uncover the unknown supernatural threat and save humanity – including Carmilla’s. (Todd Spangler in Variety)

It seems that somehow, two Brontë sisters will be featured in the production: Cara Gee (Drummer in The Expanse) plays Emily Brontë and Grace Lynn Kung incarnates Charlotte Brontë.

Picture Source: @Melanie_Windle

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Fit for the Brontës

We have several bookish conversations today. Judith Barrow interviews writer Juliet Greenwood:

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on? My most memorable pilgrimage was going to Howarth [sic] to the Brontë Museum. I went first as a teenager, when I’d first discovered ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’. It was fascinating to see where the sisters lived and worked, and I was amazed at the smallness of their dresses. The things I loved best were the tiny little books they’d written as children. I was creating books myself at the time, not nearly as tiny, and it was great to see that that was how my idols had begun their literary career!
The thing I remember most, though, is the graveyard, and the sounds and the atmosphere. When I was older, I walked the Pennine Way with friends. We reached Top Withens in the morning, swathed in mist, and sat and had breakfast in the ruins. That was definitely one of the most atmospheric mornings I’ve ever experienced.

The Daily Mail asks writer Paula Hawkins about a book that left her cold.

The Mill On The Floss, but I think that has nothing to do with George Eliot. It was last on a list of lengthy Victorian novels I read — Wuthering Heights, Far From The Madding Crowd, Jane Eyre — and I couldn’t face another. I should give it another go.

Hypable describes writer Juliette Cross:

From the moment she read Jane Eyre as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own. (Kristen Kranz)

This columnist from La Croix (France) recalls how she came to read Jane Eyre for the first time:

Je suis certaine du grand pouvoir de la fiction et des livres. Il faut imaginer la petite fille que j’étais dans une maison foutraque au sol rouge, découvrant dans le coin de la chambre de son oncle, parti faire ses études en France, un carton rempli de livres. Les livres sont usés, les tranches se décollent, les feuilles se détachent. Il y a, entre autres, Jane Eyre (C. Brontë), Une maison pour Monsieur Biswas (V. S. Naipaul), Les Raisins de la colère (J. Steinbeck), Les Hauts de Hurlevent (E. Brontë), les œuvres complètes de Shakespeare réunies dans un ouvrage vert sapin assez laid, aux pages déjà teintées de cette couleur crème du temps qui passe.
Je décide de commencer par Jane Eyre, le titre me plaît. C’est en anglais et je lis lentement parce que c’est un peu difficile. Mon père me dit : « Oh, Jane Eyre, c’est vieux ça. » Mais moi, je trouve que c’est tellement dramatique (et donc passionnant et donc moderne pour moi), cette fille maltraitée puis placée dans un orphelinat (oh, quand meurt son amie Helen !). Et cet amour que je ne comprends pas tout à fait mais, au fond, je sais que c’est d’une beauté implacable qui me touche. Dehors, par-delà ma fenêtre, il y a un manguier, il y a des rouges-gorges, il fait chaud à griller les feuilles de bananier, mais ce que j’aime, c’est la lande, je suis persuadée que c’est là-bas que se déroule la vraie vie. Ce pouvoir d’incarnation entière, complète, de « téléportation » presque dans un monde autre que le sien, oui, la fiction a ce pouvoir. Mais il faut, je crois, avoir le temps et le luxe de se laisser porter par ce pouvoir. (Nathacha Appanah) (Translation)

While this columnist from La Orquesta (Mexico) blames books for her concept of love:

Al crecer, los géneros literarios que leía fueron cambiando junto conmigo. Uno en especial fue el que llegó para quedarse; el romántico. Autoras como Jane Austen y las hermanas Brönte (sic) , me hicieron creer en las relaciones que todo lo pueden. Cómo a pesar de la adversidad, el amor entre un héroe y una heroína siempre triunfa.
Idealicé decenas de parejas perfectas y el amor incondicional y perfecto que se podían profesar dos personas. Que, aunque al principio un chico pudiese ser complicado, una chica podría cambiarlo para bien con todo su cariño. (Diana Martell) (Translation)

This columnist from GoUpstate describes herself:

Miss “likes to cozy up in bed with a cup of tea and a worn copy of Jane Eyre, after watching an episode of ‘The Crown,’ ’′ (Pam Stone)

Tes gives 'Four reasons why we should be teaching about the Bible – and not just in RE lessons' such as

1. To contextualise discussion about good and evil
The conflict between good and evil is a key idea in the Bible. Understanding this as the basis for how artists and writers represent these concepts provides a starting point to broaden discussions around characters and their actions. For example, the depiction of Satan as a beautiful angel, thrown out of heaven for rebellion, is a motif repeated throughout literature. Rochester, in Brontë's Jane Eyre, laments his own status as a fallen angel figure, but without knowing the reference, pupils won’t understand why. (Fran Hill)

Lancashire Post wonders whether 'commercial operators could be brought in' to help run Wycoller park.

Pendle councillor Whipp said: “Clearly we have two jewels in the crown. The one I’m particularly interested in is Wycoller - the setting for Brontë books and a destination for international visitors and for local people alike.” He said he knew that it had been suggested that talks should be held “in a very open way to see if there’s any interest from commercial operators to look at helping to cover the cost of running the (Wycoller) country park.” He argued both Wycoller and Beacon Fell would provide an opportunity for commercial operators to contribute to service costs. The council’s deputy leader Coun Albert Atkinson replied: “We will need people who will look to take over a lease to keep them going not just the two, but others. Officers are looking at it. We’ll keep cabinet and yourself informed of any future developments.”

The Huffington Post reviews a show by Aldous Harding in which

the artist stood, riveted to the stage, hands empty and busy, smashing the perfect hell out of ‘Wuthering Heights’. (Michael Dobson)

Golf Digest recalls the time when Lebron James

bid farewell to Cleveland: Jerseys were burned in the streets, billboards were torn from their scaffolding, and a Fortune 500 CEO penned a scorned lover’s letter fit for the Brontës. (Coleman Bentley)

According to Vogue India, Wuthering Heights is one of '10 evergreen classic novels you’ll never tire of revisiting'.

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Jane Eyre in Woodbridge, US

A new theatrical datation of Jane Eyre:

The Castaways Repertory Theatre presents
Jane Eyre
Adapted from Charlotte Brontë’s novel
Directed by Julie Little
June 16 @ 7:30pm
June 17 @ 2:00pm
June 23 @ 7:30pm
June 24 @ 2:00pm
Location: Ferlazzo Mainstage
15941 Donald Curtis Dr
Woodbridge, VA 22191

(Julie Little was named the 2017 Outstanding Arts Educator during the Kathleen K. Seefeldt Awards for Arts Excellence ceremony in May at the Hylton Performing Arts Center)
Charlotte Brontë’s powerful Gothic novel is brought to life on our stage. In her autobiography, Jane Eyre recalls the difficulties growing up as an orphan in the home of her cruel aunt and at Lowood, the charity school run by the rigid Mr. Brocklehurst. Throughout tragedy and hardship, Jane grows into an independent and spirited adult. She applies for and obtains a position as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she encounters its inscrutable master, Edward Rochester. There, she uncovers a dark and terrible secret, and Jane is forced to make a choice to follow her heart or her convictions. In the end, through great courage and sacrifice, Jane finds a place she can finally call home.

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Haworth: a stunning little place

Source

The Telegraph and Argus features the work of Haworth artist Judith Helme.

Painstakingly-created ceramic tiles featuring Keighley and Haworth landmarks are now on sale on eBay.
Haworth artist Judith Helme has made the six 3D pictures featuring locations such as Cliffe Castle Museum, East Riddlesden Hall and Keighley Library.
The Black Bull, Bronte Parsonage Museum and railway station, all in Haworth, also feature in the set.
Haworth photographer Stephen Hogg said each picture took several months to finish.
He said: “The six pieces of ceramic tile artwork were constructed by hand building and decorating each individual clay tile, moulding the tiles to represent local well-known buildings.
“Judith fired and glazed each separate tile, finely mounting them on a wooden board then grouting and framing them in solid oak frames.”
The items, which measure about 66cm x 50cm, can be found on eBay until June 20. (David Knights)

Here's the link to her eBay listing.

Keighley News reports a visit to Haworth by Paul Eryk Atlas, who plays Heathcliff in the new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

One of the stars due to appear in a new film adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel Wuthering Heights has visited Haworth.
Paul Eryk Atlas, who will play the part of Heathcliff in the Three Hedgehogs Films production of Wuthering Heights, came to the village earlier this month (June) for the first time since his childhood.
He explained: "It had become very clear to me that a visit to Haworth was well and truly overdue for several reasons.
"I've had the privilege of playing Heathcliff for over a year of filming – a very long time to be with a character, especially in screen acting – and during that time have become an epic fan of Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, her siblings and their many great works.
"For me, visiting Haworth seemed the perfect way to say 'goodbye' to a character that I've come to cherish like a brother.
"My last visit was when I was much younger, I visited with a school friend one weekend when we were 12.
"Haworth is a stunning little place, even more so in the torrential rain which was the case when I returned. I don’t think the place could have felt more like the Yorkshire described in Wuthering Heights.
"The highlight for me was walking through the doors of the parsonage and seeing the table on which Emily wrote Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Jane Eyre. The emotion hit me like a brick wall, if I’m honest, it was a very humbling moment."
"Speaking with Rebecca Yorke of the Brontë Society was a pleasure, all at the parsonage made me feel very welcome."
Mr Atlas also walked to Top Withens, adding that the bad weather only helped make the experience even more atmospheric and worthwhile.
He said: "Our film Wuthering Heights is now off to post production. We have only one scene left to do.
"It is my first film and has been a mammoth challenge, especially to play such an iconic character, but one I feel I couldn’t have given more to.
"I've had the chance to get my teeth into some very gritty script and had to have a lot of specific combat and equestrian training.
"Overall it has been an incredible experience."
The film, which has a £100,000 budget, is being directed by Elisaveta Abrahall and also stars Sha'ori Morris as Catherine Earnshaw.
It is expected to be released next year, in time for the bi-centenary of Emily Bronte's birth.
Some of the filming has taken place on the moors outside Haworth, but most has been done amidst similar looking landscape in the Welsh Borders area. (Miran Rahman)

Sardines reviews the Richmond performances of Sally Cookson's Jane Eyre giving it 5 stars:

Nadia Clifford is outstanding as Jane, taking Bronte’s proto-feminist heroine from childhood through the Red Room to Thornfield Hall, love and beyond; and Tim Delap gives a more complex and nuanced Rochester than is usual in portrayals of the male leads in the novels of the Brontes and Jane Austen.
The third principal, among other work a member of the wonderful Ronnie Scott’s Rejects band, is Melanie Marshall whose Bertha Mason is a brooding presence as the story builds to its incendiary climax while, in her extraordinarily beautiful voice, she sings intermittent sidelights on Jane’s unfolding story, supported by a trio of onstage musicians that add extra magic throughout the production. The chorus is seamless and excellent but two members shine just a little brighter: Paul Mundell as, among others, Rochester’s dog, Pilot, capturing every nuance and element of dog down to the facial expressions and constant tail wagging; and the versatile Evelyn Miller who becomes - almost literally - a man in one of her three roles, every mannerism, every movement perfectly convincing.
Finally, this is a show where the sound and lighting matter almost as much as the acting, pulling the audience into the action, especially in a ferocious storm scene and in the final conflagration and its aftermath. (Louis Mazzini)

The AU Review (Australia) reviews the play The Moors:

Stephen Nicolazzo’s current production of the Jen Silverman play The Moors makes perfect use of this wonderful space. The play provides a satire on the isolated lives of the Bronte sisters living in a remote part of the foreboding Yorkshire Moors. It chronicles the arrival of a new idealistic Governess who upends the repressed and bleak family home, as we explore the stilted and sexually repressed lives of sisters Agatha and Hudley.  This is the Australian premiere of the show, which debuted in America in 2016. (Emily Wood)

Le Monde (France) reviews Lettres choisies de la famille Brontë, which was released a couple of months ago in France.

« On ne devrait jamais conserver de lettres comme les miennes – elles sont aussi dangereuses que des allumettes Lucifer… Jetez-les au feu ! » Cette consigne, ironique, Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) la tient de son mari, le prudent vicaire Arthur Nicholls, et elle la transmet à son amie, Ellen Nussey, destinataire de la plus grande partie de ses missives.
Arthur Nicholls ne s’y trompe pas : Charlotte écrit ce qu’elle pense, soucieuse avant tout de vérité, quitte à déranger quelques idées reçues. Cette exigence implacable fait de ces Lettres choisies de la famille Brontë, où sa voix prédomine, un roman aussi fascinant que l’œuvre de la fratrie. (Christine Jordis)

Writer Emma Curtis shares 10 things about herself on Female First.

I was reading the classics by the time I was ten, starting with Jane Eyre, retreating into fictional worlds when the harsh realities of school left me floundering. To me the characters were real, and I strive for that in my own writing.

Self-Publishing Review interviews writer Sandra Neily:

Who are your biggest writing inspirations and why?[...] I try to hear Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” once a year.

Wicked Local Weymouth interviews Emily Cataneo, another writer with a penchant for the Brontës,

Who and what has influenced you as a writer?My classic literature influences are the Brontë sisters, Oscar Wilde, Shirley Jackson and Angela Carter. My modern influences are Kelly Link, Margo Lanagan and Karen Russell, whose short stories really inspired me when I was younger. (Monica Jimenez)

Readings (Australia) sums up some of the things that were said during Reading Matters, 'a bi-annual celebration of youth literature'.

While in a discussion about teen romance, blogger Danielle Binks asked why we set books at school that promote unhealthy representations of love (Wuthering Heights anyone?) but then dismiss other romances. (Bronte Coates)

We are rather confused by this description of food in the Evening Standard:

Small plates from Padella, from the brains behind Trullo in Islington, include the cheesy pici cacio e pepe, are as moreish as an Emily Brontë novel. (Samuel Fishwick)

Herefordshire Live recommends Jasper FForde's The Eyre Affair as one of the books to give fathers for Father's Day. CheDonna (Italy) has a test for finding out which literary heroine you resemble the most, including Jane Eyre. Animal Político (Mexico) has a mock letter on Charlotte Brontë's dislike of of Jane Austen.

Finally, a moving tweet by the Brontë Parsonage:

Today we remember Elizabeth Brontë, the second of the Brontë children, who died on this day in 1825. She was ten years old. pic.twitter.com/eOqRfoZTev

— Brontë Parsonage (@BronteParsonage) June 15, 2017

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